How did I, who just ascended to heaven, become an evil spirit?

"But... this person has been serving as an official in Zhongzhou for so long, it's a bit unreasonable," Huang Daxian muttered.

"I've watched him perform rituals since I was a child. Every year during Qingming Festival, Double Ninth Festival, Winter Solstice, and Spring Festival, I would see him and the prefect offering incense and praying together on the high altar. He's an old man who has lived in the Central Plains for a long time and is very prestigious. How could he be an evil spirit?"

Wong Tai Sin couldn't quite understand it; he found it extremely perplexing.

Hearing the group's distant discussion, the red-haired Taoist was already trembling with rage. In his panic, Li Hu had already chopped off his head at least seven or eight times.

His face was gloomy. He made a feint with the bronze bell in his hand and then quickly retreated.

"Wait...wait until I lock you all in the alchemy furnace, then we'll see how you spout your heretical words!"

Suddenly, he plunged his other hand into the ground, not even his elbow, and then, with a tense effort, pulled a three-foot-long alchemy furnace out of the soil.

It was the same as what Li Hu had seen when he escaped from the inn after being trapped there.

Everyone secretly realized something was wrong. This red-haired Taoist's swordsmanship was mediocre, but his methods were unpredictable. If he were to use some strange move, who knew what the consequences would be?

Seeing this, the group quickly stepped forward to subdue the red-haired Taoist.

Facing the menacing group rushing towards him, the red-haired Taoist laughed and struck the alchemy furnace with his left hand, producing a piercing, loud bell sound and a shockwave that forced the group back.

"Come on, I, Zong Shanyue, am ready to die! Let's see who among you has the guts!"

The red-haired Taoist laughed wildly, his laughter piercing through the trees and startling a flock of birds. They flapped their wings and leaped from their nests, flying eastward.

Just at this time.

Li Hu saw the flock of birds flying eastward crash into something, and one after another they fell to the ground with a series of thuds. When Li Hu realized what was happening, he was astonished to find that it was a series of sword-qi gusts coming from afar.

At this moment, purple clouds appeared in the east, and Li Hu could see them clearly. The sword energy and gale were much faster and more accurate than the previous two times.

It seems the sword immortal has made his move again.

Upon seeing that terrifying gale again, the red-haired Taoist, who had just been laughing wildly, instantly changed his expression. He hurriedly raised the three-foot-long alchemy furnace in front of him, crouched down like a dog, and crawled inside, closing the lid.

After all, the strong wind came suddenly, and he had no time to escape.

Suddenly, these sword energies exploded in front of the alchemy furnace, shattering it into pieces with a single strike. The remaining gale force struck the red-haired Taoist without any obstruction, quickly splitting him into several pieces.

The red-haired Taoist is like an earthworm underground; perhaps he can survive even if he is split in two.

But this time the sword energy was continuous, and in just a few breaths, it had already cleaved him into pieces.

The scraps of flesh lay limply on the ground, mixing with the previous clay statue, and flowing stickily across the earth.

Li Hu's horror had lessened slightly compared to before. From the beginning, he had guessed that the sword energy was about to appear again, but even so, he still felt as if his brain had been hit hard.

Li Hu looked up again towards the east, where a rosy dawn was drifting gracefully across the horizon.

But when Li Hu looked more closely at the auspicious red cloud, he suddenly realized that the cloud seemed to be deliberately avoiding his gaze, drifting away into the distance at an impossible speed.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it was an escape.

Before long, the cloud completely disappeared into the sky, and the sword energy also vanished completely at that moment.

But Li Hu was still staring blankly at that side.

"You...you should have noticed this time, right?" Li Hu turned to look at Yuan Sou, Qi Yuehong, and Huang Daxian, eagerly seeking their confirmation.

"That cloud! That moving cloud!"

Yuan Sou was ashen-faced, and even Qi Yuehong was losing her composure.

They responded to Li Hu's questioning gaze and nodded in agreement.

"He's staring at me, he's been watching me! My every move!"

Li Hu was somewhat devastated. He felt no small sense of happiness at being helped by the sword immortal again; all he felt was suspicion, confusion, and fear.

He didn't know what the sword immortal wanted to do. This feeling of being watched by an unknown being was extremely unpleasant, even more so than the naked malice of his previous enemies, which made Li Hu's scalp tingle.

If the immortal Li Hu slaps someone and then gives them a sweet treat, anyone would be stunned and terrified.

"Give me a quick death, or else what are you hiding? What do you mean by this?" Li Hu murmured, staring painfully at the direction where the auspicious clouds had long since disappeared.

Old Yuan came to his senses, sighed, and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Li Hu, saying, "Master Hu, you are blessed with good fortune, you are blessed with good fortune."

"Good fortune smiles upon them."

Everyone seemed to understand something. After realizing that Li Hu had the help of an immortal, they all fell silent and stopped talking.

The atmosphere here gradually became subtle, except for Chi Yue, who was still oblivious. He skipped over to Li Hu's side and said in a carefree manner:

"Wow, brother, you're amazing!" She tugged at Li Hu's sleeve, her eyes sparkling.

"Can you do me a favor?"

Li Hu turned to look at her. Chi Yue's innocence didn't seem feigned. Considering that she hadn't run away from the clay statue and the red-haired Taoist, but instead had bravely come to her aid, Li Hu asked:

"What do you want me to do?"

Chi Yue hesitated for a moment, looking at Li Hu with adoring eyes as she stammered:

"You're so powerful, if you could... help me get a title, and answer the question that I'm like a god, then... then I should be able to achieve enlightenment very soon."

"I know it's a little embarrassing, but please, have mercy on me."

Seeing her hesitant demeanor, Li Hu knew that Chi Yue was definitely hiding something.

For example, seeking a title will inevitably cause unspeakable harm or backlash to oneself, and those who speak like gods will certainly bear some inexplicable cause and effect.

"What will happen to me after I finish speaking?" Li Hu asked bluntly.

Hearing Li Hu directly expose her little scheme, Chi Yue was indeed a little embarrassed. She fiddled with the hem of her clothes and said, "It's nothing."

"If a mortal were to help me obtain the title, I might fall seriously ill, have a more unlucky life for the rest of my days, or even die."

"But I swear, I have never caused anyone to actually die!" She raised three fingers to the sky and said.

"However, for an expert like you, I think a couple of coughs would be enough, like this."

She covered her mouth with her hand, pretending to be in some discomfort, "Cough! Cough cough!"

"I'm afraid it's more than that?"

Li Hu scrutinized Chi Yue with a critical eye, making her feel uneasy, and she slowly lowered her head.

"We'll discuss this later."

Li Hu declined for the time being, ending the topic.

He stared at the lump of meat paste on the ground that belonged to the Red-Haired Taoist, with the bronze bell covered in bits of meat still on it. Aside from the Sword Immortal, this was also the thing that had been puzzling Li Hu the most lately.

"Why do you say this Taoist priest has repeatedly died and come back to life?"

Li Hu frowned and said, "It's understandable that he could quickly heal his wounds during the previous battle, but last time he was also torn to pieces by the sword energy, so why is he showing up again today?"

"If he can be resurrected like this, he might just reappear in the future, haunting us endlessly. When will this ever end?"

After hearing Li Hu's question, Yuan Sou began to ponder it as well, only to see him scratch his head. This usually knowledgeable old fellow in the team was now also at a loss.

"I know!"

At this moment, Chi Yue spoke loudly, as if she wanted to prove to Li Hu that she was useful, and excitement could be seen from her whole body.

"I heard my grandma talk about this before. These evil spirits are often very malevolent and extremely difficult to kill cleanly."

"Sometimes, even though they are dead, there is a possibility of them being resurrected if certain conditions are met in the future."

"I guess we accidentally triggered some mechanism just now, which brought this evil spirit back to life."

"Mechanism? Could it be...?"

At this moment, Old Man Yuan's eyes lit up. "Could it be that the bell can't be rung?"

"I'm afraid this is the only way," Wong Tai Sin nodded in agreement.

Everyone looked at the bell, seemingly lost in thought. Just then, Chi Yue casually walked into the pile of rotten flesh and grabbed the bell.

No one knew what Chi Yue was up to, but they all raised their hands to stop her, saying, "No!"

The moment the bell rings, the red-haired Taoist is resurrected. Although this is just everyone's guess, it is absolutely impossible to test.

"I'm not that stupid." Chi Yue smiled and walked to Ma Jiabao's body. She picked a few pieces from the remaining clay statue fragments on the ground and stuffed them into the bell.

Now the bell's opening is sealed with yellow mud, making it impossible for it to make a sound.

"I guess... I guess if this Taoist priest can be resurrected, then this clay statue might be able to be resurrected too. Let's knead them together and let them play with each other!"

Chi Yue tossed the tidied bells and yellow mud to Li Hu, gesturing with her lips and saying, "Keep them safe. I heard that the people from the Ghost Suppression Division are willing to pay for these half-dead evil spirits. These two together might fetch a good price in the future."

"The Ghost Suppression Division... I never want to see anyone from the Ghost Suppression Division again in my life." Upon hearing this name, Wong Tai Sin said with slight unease.

"You little brat, who are you? How do you know all this stuff?" Old Yuan asked, scratching his cheek and looking Chi Yue up and down with suspicion.

Chi Yue smiled sheepishly, taking it as a compliment from Yuan Sou. After trying her best to stop laughing, she couldn't help but chuckle to herself with a touch of smugness.

Everyone found what Chi Yue had just said quite novel, except for Qi Yuehong, who seemed to be deep in thought.

After pondering for a moment, he finally spoke:

"So, does that mean my brothers who died at the Amputation Hill will have a chance to reunite with me someday?"

His thoughts drifted, and after pondering for a while, he suddenly felt confused and frowned deeply.

"Commander."

At this moment, Yuan Shou clasped his hands and said, "I'm afraid not every evil spirit can revive."

"Furthermore... if the mechanism of resurrection is concealed, that's fine. But if, like with this red-haired Taoist, we guess the mechanism of his resurrection, will there still be any possibility of him being resurrected in the future?"

"If an evil spirit has never died, it will never know how it was resurrected. But once it knows how it was resurrected, it will never share this secret with others, otherwise it may ruin its chance of resurrection and be easily eliminated."

"Let alone whether the brothers on the mountain know they can be resurrected, even if they do know, they can't let us guess."

Yuan Sou's words were sincere, which made Qi Yuehong's newly ignited passion sink again.

Li Hu simply watched Qi Yuehong deep in thought without saying a word.

When everyone had rested enough, Li Hu was the first to get up, ready to continue their journey.

He glanced around and saw that, having just survived two major battles, his group was still relatively unharmed.

Unfortunately, Shui Sheng was unlucky. Just now, when everyone was fighting with the Red-Haired Taoist, he accidentally touched Qi Yuehong's cold moonlight and was frozen unconscious.

Shuisheng is currently lying on the ground, curled up, unconscious.

"May I ask, Tiger, what should we do with this child before we set off?" Old Man Yuan asked, frowning.

Li Hu was also in a dilemma. The child was only five years old and could not be taken on the road. Ma Jiabao had already died and there was no possibility of saving him.

Li Hu sighed and finally decided, "Yan Yang, you escort him home."

"Explain to everyone in the village that you should pay them some money and have their neighbors take care of him."

"Yes." Yan Yang nodded in agreement.

"Wait a minute!" Chi Yue suddenly interrupted, "This child is suffering so much today, he'll definitely suffer a lot in the future."

"I'll do it. I'll erase his memory so he won't live in constant fear later."

She frowned, knelt down beside Shui Sheng, and placed her hand on his forehead.

A burst of blue light shone, and Shui Sheng's subconsciously tense muscles slowly relaxed, even his complexion became healthier.

After a few breaths, Chi Yue stopped her technique, stood up, and clapped her hands.

"That's fine. He won't remember anything that happened today. Unless he's extremely unlucky, he probably won't encounter a situation like this again."

"You just erased his memory? You can still do these things?" Li Hu asked.

"Not bad." Chi Yue seemed somewhat smug.

"I am Huang Xiu, and I am only a little bit away from achieving perfect merit. I can't just stand on a rock, clasp my hands, and ask for a verbal blessing."

"That's good." Li Hu glanced at her but didn't say anything more.

"Brother, look at me, I'm not some good-for-nothing. Where are you going? Why don't you take me with you?" Chi Yue seized the opportunity to pester Li Hu again, her words implying that she wanted to ask Li Hu for a title.

Sima Zhao's blatant intentions were obvious to everyone, and the crowd understood without saying a word, just smiling knowingly.

"We can discuss this later. If you want to come along, then go ahead." Li Hu waved his hand and continued walking slowly towards Blackwater Mountain.

……

When Shui Sheng woke up, he found himself lying at home.

His head was throbbing violently, as if he had been struck by a heavy hammer. He instinctively wanted to call for help, but when the words reached his lips, he suddenly couldn't remember who he should call.

He felt not only a headache, but also severe swelling in his eyes, as if they had been pickled in salt.

Shuisheng got out of bed, looked at the empty house, and his gaze gradually shifted to the altar on the wall.

There seemed to have been something enshrined there, but now it was empty. The incense burner still had burnt-out wooden sticks stuck in it, and the candles on both sides had almost burned out.

Shuisheng rubbed his head and stopped thinking about these things.

His stomach rumbled, and he prepared to rummage through the cupboard to see if there was anything to eat. But when he opened the cupboard, he found it crammed full, with dry food piled up like a small mountain, fruits and vegetables all there, and the rice jar overflowing with rice.

Shui Sheng was overjoyed and picked up a cucumber to eat raw.